ואתה הקרב אליך את אהרן אחיך ואת בניו אמו מתוך בני ישראל לכהנו לי אהרן נדב ואביהו אלעזר ואיתמר בני אהרן
"And bring close unto you your brother, Aharon, and his sons with him, from among the Children of Yisroel, so that he shall be a Kohen to Me: Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, Elazar and Isamar, the sons of Aharon.” (Shemos 28:1)
According to the Medrash (Shemos Rabbah 37:4), when Hashem instructed Moshe to bring Aharon and his sons so they could serve as Kohanim, Moshe was bothered. Hashem said to him, “The Torah was Mine and I gave it to you.”
What did Hashem mean by this? How did these words mollify Moshe?
The Yismach Moshe (Shemini), quoting Chein Tov (Tetzaveh), explains that Moshe felt that the greatest glory of G-d would be realized were he to be the Kohen. Who, besides him, had spoken to Hashem “Face to face”? Who else had survived forty days and nights without food upon ascending Har Sinai? Could there be a more fitting representative of Hashem serving in the Mishkan? Therefore, “heira lo — it bothered him.”
Hashem’s cryptic answer echoes with a fundamental understanding of the role of a Kohen. The Kohen serves as both a role model to others and as an intermediary between Yisroel and Hashem. He serves as an exemplar of proper conduct. With his mere presence, along with his encouraging words, he facilitates our growth in our service of Hashem.
In addition, the Kohanim help bridge any gap we have created in our relationship with Him. When we bring korbanos to draw closer to Hashem (the root of korban is קרב to come close), the Kohanim serve as the conduit for this action. The Kohanim are the ones who offer the sacrifice and perform the requisite service. In fact, the atonement obtained with the bringing of various korbanos is only rendered fully when the Kohanim eat thereof: “Hakohanim ochlim u’vaalim mis’chaprin — The Kohanim eat and the owners are forgiven” (Pesachim 59b). Two types of eating are required: the physical eating of the Kohen and the Mizbe’ach’s consumption of the korban.
As is well-known, the best role model for self-improvement is someone who has been there and done that — someone who was less than perfect but has changed. A person who has never had a failing or even a temptation in a certain area will hardly be able to have the same impact as one who himself has recovered from that failing. One recovering alcoholic can better help his struggling brother than a battery of the finest mental health professionals or spiritual advisers. “If he can do it, so can I!”
This is what Hashem was telling Moshe: “The Torah was Mine and I gave it to you,” as Moshe himself responded to the angels’ demand that Torah remain in heaven: “...What is written therein? You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. Is there jealousy among you? Is the yetzer horah among you?” (Shabbos 88b–89a).
When Hashem said, “The Torah was Mine and I gave it to you,” He meant that the Torah was given to Moshe, because of his winning arguments against the angels. Moshe said to them, the Torah is meant for fallible people, who need the growth, guidance, and direction the Torah offers. It is for people who will err and need a korban’s atonement, not for angelic and Divine beings with no yetzer horah.
Moshe was an ish ha’Elokim, a man of G-d (Devorim 33:1). He lived apart from his wife; he did not require food — he lived without physical sustenance when he went up to Shomayim after Matan Torah. It was precisely this greatness that made him a less than perfect role model. People would not be able to learn from him; instead they would say, “How can I possibly emulate him? He is such a tzaddik.”
On the other hand, Aharon would make the perfect role model, because people could identify with him. Hashem intended to kill him for his role in constructing the Golden Calf (Medrash Rabbah Tzav 7:1). It was only through Moshe’s intervention that he was spared. Aharon had sinned; he had done wrong. Yet he found his way back. He had done teshuvah, and was back in the good graces of Hashem. Such a person is the perfect Kohen, the person with whom one could identify. “Look! If Aharon can be forgiven, there is hope for me!”
Moshe thought that he, in all his greatness, would make the best Kohen. Hashem was intimating to Moshe that the Torah was given to imperfect people who require similar role models — like Aharon.
With this in mind, the Yismach Moshe brings a new way of understanding a Rashi in Parshas Shemini. “Vayomer Moshe el Aharon kerav el haMizbe’ach va’aseih es chatas’cha ve’es olasecha ve’chaper ba’adcha u’ve’ad ha’am — And Moshe said to Aharon, ‘Approach the Altar and perform your sin offering and your burnt offering, atoning for yourself and for the people’” (Vayikra 9:7).
Rashi tells us that Moshe had ordered Aharon to approach the Mizbe’ach, but he was embarrassed and afraid to come close. Moshe said to him, “Why are you embarrassed? For this you were chosen.” Aharon felt less than worthy to be offering korbanos.
After all, the Mishkan was built to atone for the sin of the Eigel, which Aharon himself had made. That is why Moshe had to be insistent and tell him, “Why are you ashamed? For this you have been chosen.” In other words, “Notwithstanding your hesitancy, this is your chosen job; just do it.”
But the Yismach Moshe explains it differently. Based on the newfound understanding of the role of a Kohen, Moshe’s words take on a whole new meaning. Just as up until that point, Moshe, the ish ha’Elokim, felt that he was the perfect person for the kehunah, Aharon felt himself unworthy and unfit to serve. “I made the Eigel. How can I be Kohen?”
To this, Moshe responded, “Lamah atah vosh, le’chach nivcharta — That which you are embarrassed about is precisely the reason you were selected!
“You have reason to feel unworthy, as you are not perfect. But it is this imperfection that makes you, not me, the only choice for Kohen; you are the perfect role model for Bnei Yisroel. By looking at you, they will find the spiritual reserve with which to claw back from the abyss. You will be the one to reconnect their souls to Hashem.”
Perhaps this explains why the Torah wrote in our parsha, “And bring close unto you your brother, Aharon, and his sons with him, from among Bnei Yisroel.” The emphasis here is that the Kohen had to come from among the people. Like them, he had to have human shortcomings to be able to inspire them. (R’ Avraham Bukspan, Classics and Beyond 1)
